mindfully thinking about learning
The new school year has started, and I’m in a new school as a vice principal. My role at the Ministry of Education has come to a close and I’m grateful for the amazing learning and the wonderful colleagues that I worked with there in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch and the Incubation and…
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It’s always great to go back to the science of learning to underpin everything we do as educators. A fascination for how people learn led me to an undergraduate degree in Psychology, and this has served me so well as a prerequisite to teaching, but I realize that many other educators may not have had…
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After stumbling upon an interesting post by The School Vlogger, Dr. Mary Hemphill, I noticed she happened to be talking about engaging student voice at her school, and when she began to talk about changing culture and keeping students at the centre, I was really intrigued. The idea being shared was one way that she…
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Sometimes there are moments that bring you back in time to reflect on your teaching practice, and a visit to YRDSBs Quest Conference this week certainly did that for me. Brian Aspinall @mraspinall was mentioning his early efforts in coding with kids in a club that he started while he was a University student in…
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I’m a big fan of using Siri on my iphone and have been ever since I began using speech to text software with students in about 2006. Boy, has the technology improved since then! I now use it to create reminders, schedule calendar events and dictate emails and documents when I have a quiet place…
Read MoreIt was great to visit the York School this week to attend #MakerEdTo. This was a fantastic opportunity to connect the #iicti AQ course members to a network of educators interested in constructivist and constructionist uses of technology. An added bonus was that they got to hear all about Seymour Papert from the Keynote Speaker…
Read MoreCreative Commons is not a new concept, and many people have been aware of its existence for some time, as well as the need to credit the work of generous people who offer to share their creations with us. It’s also great when something comes along that makes it a little easier for media…
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Many school administrators are aware that some parents are feeling the tension of change in Ontario’s Health and Physical Education (HPE) Revision for 2015. Concern that kids need more current information (the last curriculum was released 17 years ago), and a more comprehensive understanding of all the aspects of healthy living, has led to this…
Read MoreBIG congratulations to the Grade 6s and Mme Caudarella from École Edward Johnson who participated in a Global Project called Art Miles Japan this year. It is coordinated through the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN.org) and is a fabulous way for students to have a global learning experience. A teacher is matched with a…
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